Systems and methods for enhanced sports-related media content access and display are provided. An intelligent tuning module for multi-tuner systems may designate one sporting event as a primary sporting event and another sporting event as a secondary sporting event. A primary tuner may tune the primary event whenever possible and a secondary tuner may tune the secondary event whenever possible. Sporting events may be assigned user profile scores and tuned away from in reverse priority order. An interactive scoreboard may also be displayed with various game status and alert icons. The interactive scoreboard may allow a viewer to quickly tune between high-interest sporting events. Sports-specific features, such as wagering and fantasy league support, are also provided.

Systems and methods for providing enhanced sports watching media guidance

Systems, methods and apparatus for collecting data and presenting media to a user are provided. The systems generally includes a data gathering module associated with an electronic device. The data gathering module communicates gathered data to a management module, which manages at least one user profile based on the gathered data. The management module may select media for presentation to a user based on the user profile, and the selected media may be displayed to the user via a media output device co-located with the user, such as a display of the user's mobile electronic device or a television, computer, billboard or other display co-located with the user. Related methods are also provided.

Methods, systems and apparatus for delivery of media

A personal media broadcasting system enables video distribution over a computer network and allows a user to view and control media sources over a computer network from a remote location. A personal broadcaster receives an input from one or more types of media sources, digitizes and compresses the content, and streams the compressed media over a computer network to a media player running on any of a wide range of client devices for viewing the media. The system may allow the user to issue control commands (e.g., “channel up”) from the media player to the broadcaster, causing the source device to execute the commands. The broadcaster and the media player may employ several techniques for buffering, transmitting, and viewing the content to improve the user's experience.

Personal media broadcasting system with output buffer

A media device allows users to watch and capture portions from a media stream. Users may then share the captured media content with other users. In one embodiment, the media device receives a media stream, plays the media stream, and caches a portion of the media stream as it is being played. A user can define a media clip by selecting its boundaries in the cached portion of the media stream. The media device creates the media clip based on the user's input and enables the user to transmit the media clip to another system, such as a community website for sharing it with other users.

Capturing and sharing media content

A method for effectively implementing a multi-room television system includes a digital base station that processes and combines various program sources to produce a processed stream. A communications processor then responsively transmits the processed stream as a local composite output stream to various wired and wireless display devices for flexible viewing at variable remote locations. The transmission path performance is used to determine the video encoding process, and special attention is taken to assure that all users have low-latency interactive capabilities.

Method for effectively implementing a multi-room television system

Selection and presentation of media streams, in which presentation is not limited by order imposed by the digital content representative of those media streams, in response to bookmarks (211) and watchpoints settable and usable by a user (Figure 2). Bookmarks reference a location within the media stream, not necessarily pre-selected and possibly dynamically selected, in which a presentation can be started or restarted therefrom. Watchpoints reference a location within the media stream, or a presentation state for the media steam, in which an action can be triggered thereby. Bookmarks and watchpoints provide a general technique for presenting selections from media streams in response to metadata.

Bookmarks and Watchpoints for Selection and Presentation of Media Streams

Secure presentation of media streams includes encoding the media streams into digital content, encrypting a portion of that digital content, the portion being required for presentation, in which the encrypted version is substantially unchanged in formatting parameters from the clear version of the digital content. Selecting those portions for encryption so there is no change in distribution of the media stream: packetization of the digital data, or synchronization of audio with video portions of the media stream. When encoding the media stream into MPEG-2, refraining from encrypting information by which the video block data is described, packet formatting information, and encrypting the video block data using a block-substitution cipher. A block-substitution cipher can be used to encrypt each sequence of 16 bytes of video data in each packet, possibly leaving as many as 15 bytes of video data in each packet in the clear.

Secure presentation of media streams in response to encrypted digital content

A home theater system includes construction, presentation, and commerce in, songs. Presentation includes at least one of: metadata about songs or sounds, a function capable of transitioning from one song to a next song, and user preferences; and can determine in what manner to transition from one song to a next song. Construction of songs includes either factors above, or at least one of: a function or a user extension capable of selecting a next song, and an element capable of determining whether the song is perceptually random. A user interface is capable of searching playlists and selecting them for presentation, representing each playlist with a substantially unique pictorial representation, distinguishing in presentation between those playlists licensed to the user and those that are not, and capable of substantially immediate purchase of playlist licenses either individually or in bulk and either automatically or with minimal intervention.

Sound sequences with transitions and playlists

A user interface distinguishes between individual songs and collections of songs. A listener might review or manipulate individual songs, collections thereof, or individual songs within those collections. Review and manipulation includes visualizing those songs and collections queued for play, selecting either individual songs or collections thereof for listening, and selecting individual songs within collections thereof without having to manipulate the entire collection thereof. The user interface includes a visualization of songs queued for play, the visualization including a single block for each individual song and a single block for each collection of songs.

Structured playlists and user interface

Associating multiple content chunks with multiple DVD packages or media objects; conveniently viewing or resuming these content chunks without knowing their disposition. Associating content chunks with media objects and positions therein, associating requests by a user for play or resumption of play with appropriate behaviors, including a database. Media objects have unique media hash values, to associate content chunks with hash values, and positions within media objects maintained by bookmarks and watchpoints. Selecting a content chunk might cause its metadata to be presented, or might cause selectable content chunks within that content chunk to become selectable. Users requesting play or resumption of play of content chunks, might cause those content chunks, or might cause smaller content chunks, such as movies, to be presented. Content chunks might span more than one media object, or might switch back and forth among multiple media objects, each without the viewer needing to know.

Paul Rechsteiner

Papers

Bookmarks and Watchpoints for Selection and Presentation of Media Streams

Secure presentation of media streams in response to encrypted digital content

Sound sequences with transitions and playlists

Structured playlists and user interface

Displaying and presenting multiple media streams from multiple DVD sets